$54.5 million funding boost for search for cure for Type 1 diabetes

By Kate Aubusson

February 4, 2019 — 4.22pm

Scientists searching for the elusive cure for type 1 diabetes will get an extra $54.5 million in federal government funding to help the more than 120,000 children and adults in Australia with the chronic condition.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will receive $29.5 million for its Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced on Monday.

There is no cure for Type 1 diabetes.Credit:Matthew Bouwmeester

Another $25 million will be awarded in competitive grants to research projects focused on early-stage research that could potentially unlock new discoveries that can lead to clinical trials of new treatments.

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease that attacks a person’s ability to produce insulin. It is most commonly first diagnosed in children under 15, but can manifest at any age.

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There is no cure for the condition and no proven way to prevent it.

The funding is part of the government’s $120 billion Medical Research Future Fund, of which $125 million is committed to translating fledgling discoveries to bigger, robust, high-powered trials that have real potential to benefit patients.

“The research funding I am announcing today will help to increase the excellence and impact of this research in Australia by further supporting our best and brightest researchers to find – ultimately – a cure for diabetes,” Mr Hunt said.

In November the federal government announced an additional $100 million to expand its free access to continuous glucose-monitoring devices for pregnant women, children and more adults with type 1 diabetes.